Portable bottle carrier



Dec. 21, 1954 J. c. MUSHRUSH 2,697,629

PORTABLE BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Sept. 7, 1951 a2 56 64 54 James 6. Mushrush N V EN TOR.

in I

i: 42 BY 38 I M 5 Attorneys United States Patent PORTABLE BOTTLE CARRIER James C. Mushrush, St. Louis, Mo.

Application September 7, 1951, Serial No. 245,455.

4 Claims. (Cl. 294-8728) The present invention relates to a portable carrier for a plurality of bottles, soft drink bottles for example, and appertains more in particular, to a form of carrier which is characterized by a rigid lightweight plate provided with a carrying handle and having opening means for insertion, removal and retention of the neck portions of the stated bottles.

Bottle carriers in the category mentioned are, of course, well known. Many and varied styles and types for this line of endeavor have been ofiered and promoted for use by others. One object of the invention herein under advisement is to structurally, functionally and in other ways to improve upon known carriers in the same field of endeavor and, in so doing, to thus provide an improved carrier in which makers, users and sellers will find their respective requirements and needs amply met.

Not of most importance, but nevertheless significant,

one improvement has to do with novelly constructed and mounted handle means. This takes the form of a U- shaped wire or equivalent bail embodying a grip and resilient limbs, the free end of the limbs having bends which are hingedly keyed in apertured ears provided on the main carrying plate. These ears are unique in that they are provided with inturned laterally disposed flanges which serve to overlie the bent ends of the limbs to hold the bail down in an out-of-the-way position, the edge portions of the respective flanges having keeper notches to accommodate the stated limbs, whereby the handle may be retained in an upright carrying position.

More importantly, it is an object of the invention to provide rigid plate means, said plate means having a shelf provided with opening means to accommodate the usual beaded neck portion of a soft drink bottle and further having an oblique-angled longitudinally extending bottle abutting check wall rising to a plane above said shelf, the opposed marginal edges of said opening means extending at right angles to and completely through said check wall and having arcuate recesses adapted to conformingly embrace and frictionally grip the bead of the aforementioned neck, whereby to provide an anti-swinging bottle lock.

Objects and advantages in addition to those specifically set forth and somewhat more explicit in character will become readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of drawings.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a bottle carrier constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention wherein the bail or carrying handle is folded to a down out-of-the-way position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central transverse section taken on the plane of the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section on an enlarged scale taken on the central line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the blank which is used in providing the finished plate means;

Fig. 5 is a plan view, like Fig. 1, but showing a modified form of the carrier;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged central cross-section taken on the plane of the line 66 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 7 is an exaggerated fragmentary perspective view detailing the aforementioned bottle neck locking means.

Attention is first directed to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive. Here, the plate means comprises a lightweight, rigid, substantially rectangular plate of sheet material such as aluminum or the like, said plate having a central riser or elevated portion 8. The marginal walls of the elevated portion 8 extend in longitudinal spaced parallelism and are inclined, that is, oblique-angled, said walls being denoted by the numerals 10 and 12. These walls join with and are flanked by substantially flat shelf portions 14 and 16, respectively. The shelves or shelf portions are therefore on a plane below the top of the elevated portion and the outer marginal edges are reinforced by suitably rolled beads 1818.

As shown inFig; 2, these beads are arcuate in crosssection and constitute reinforcing elements. The elevated portion 8 and the shelf portions 14 and 16 have duplicated opening means at longitudinally spaced points, said means being adapted, obviously, to permit the bottles to be inserted, removed and suspended for carrying purposes. Each opening means takes the form of a transverse elongated slot denoted by the numeral 20. Each slot is the same in construction and a description of one will suffice for all. That is to say, each slot extends transversely across the elevated portion and has rounded closed end portions 22 and 24 providing receivers and holders for the bottles which are to be carried. The central longitudinal edge portions have clearance notches 26. Since this form of a slot in carriers of the type under consideration is known, it is obvious that the bottles have their cap ends or open neck portions, as the case may be, inserted through the clearance openings or notches 26. Then, each bottle is slid at right angles to the plate and hung in the rounded end portion of the slot. The mode of inserting, removing and holding the bottles in the slot means is, it is believed, obvious. The improvements reside in the way in which the bottles are more securely held against loose swinging and clinking in the respective end portions 22 and 24. In this connection, it will be observed that the longitudinal straight edge portions of the slot pass through or pierce the respective oblique check walls 10 and 12. The points where the edges pierce the walls are provided with diametrically opposite pairs of arcuate recesses 2828.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 7 in particular, these recesses are arcuate and the curvatures thereof are such that they hug and bind against the convex surface of the usual bead 30 on the lip end 32 of the bottle 34. Therefore, once the bottle is seated in its given end portion 22, the portions of the head in proximity to the adjacent wall 10 or 12 rest in the recesses and the recesses therefore constitute friction locks. Undue pendulous swinging of the bottles is therefore prevented and displacement is also minimized.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the elevated portion of the plate is denoted at 36 and this has inclined walls 3838 joined with flat, flanking shelf portions 4040, the outer marginal edges of these shelf portions having elevated ledge-flanges 42--42. The flanges join the shelf portions by way of further or outwardly disposed pairs of inclined walls 4444. These are the check walls in this form of the invention, obviously. Instead of slots, the bottle holders here are in the form of notches. There are six notches and each notch is denoted by the numeral 46 and has its rounded closed end portion formed in the shelf and its outer end portion 48 opening through the edge of the ledge-flange. The straight edges of the notches where they pass through the check walls 44 are provided with the aforementioned bottle holding arcuate or semi-circular notches 50. A description of a single notch suflices for all of the notches, it is believed.

In both forms of the invention the handle is the same and it takes the form of a wire bail and is denoted by the numeral 52. The bail has resilient limb portions 54--54 with laterally directed terminal ends or bends 5656 hingedly keyed in bearing openings 58 provided therefor in the respective transverse, longitudinally spaced upstruck ears 60-60. Each car has a laterally bent lip or flange 62 with obliquely cut cam forming ends 64-64. The central edge portion of the flange has a keeper notch 66 therein. Therefore, when the handle is down, it is held in this down position by the overhanging flanges 62-42, as is obvious. When the handle is swung up,- it is necessary to spring the limbs in as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Then, the limbs are released and allowed to drop back into the keeper notches 667.66. where the handle or bail is thus sustained in a steady upright carrying position. The ears are obviously struck-out gomdzthe blank metal plate in the manner evident from it is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering th description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size, and arrangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired,

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A portable bottle carrier comprising a rigid plate having a shelf provided with opening means to accommodate the usual beaded neck portion of a soft drink bottle and further having an oblique-angled longitudinally extending, bottle abutting check wall rising to. a plane above said shelf, the opposed marginal edges of said opening means extending at right angles to and completely through said check wall and said check wall having arcuate recesses communicatively cooperating with said opening means, said recesses being shaped and proportioned to conformingly embrace andfrictionally grip the bead of the aforementioned neck, said recesses coop erating in providing an anti-swinging bottle lock. d

2. A portable bottle carrier compri'ng a rigid plate having a l ngitu inal en a ly d p ed va ed po i n flanked along opposite longitudinal edgeportipns by flat shelf portions, the latter being on a plane below said elevated portion and joined with the elevated portion by way of oblique-angled walls, at least one slot formed in said elevated portion and having rounded end portions ending into the respective shelf portions, the longitudinal edges of said slot, where they pierce said walls, having opposed pairs of arcuate recesses providing bottle locks, the curvatures of the respective recesses being conformable with and adapted to bind frictionally against the usual convex surfaces of a bottle neck bead.

3. A portable bottle carrier comprising a rigid plate having a longitudinal centrally disposed elevated portion flanked along opposite longitudinal edge portions by fiat shelf portions, the latter being on a plane below said elevated portion and joined with the elevated portion by way of oblique angled walls, the outer longitudinal edge portion of at least one of said shelf portions having a fiat marginal ledge-flange joined to said shelf portion by way of an oblique-angled wall, the latter being in spaced parallelism with said first named wall and said ledgefiange being in a plane with the top of said elevated portion, and a bottle receiving noteh formed in said shelfportion, Second named 'wall, and opening through the outer marginal edge of said ledge-flange.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein said notch has straight edge portions, the portions of the latter, where they pass through said second named wall, having arcuate bottle locking recesses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 685,901 Baker Nov. 5, 1901 2,264,903 'Kruea Dec. 2, 1941 2,431,813 Lawler et al. Dec. 2, 1947 2,1 ,51 .76 G man, J Dec. 26, 1950 2,559,060 Zenick July 3, 1951 

